Project Description
Economic processes produce outputs through involving many people, and groups of people (some of them active agents in the process, and some of them external to it). The complexity and layers of relationships often produce ‘goods’ and ‘bads’ simultaneously. In this project, you’ll look at an economic process of your choosing, and focus on at least one ‘bad’ involved in that process, defined as something undesirable. You’ll then imagine how to overcome that bad.
You will write a 6-10 page paper (double spaced, 12 point font, standard margins), or produce a 15 minute multimedia presentation, which first evaluates the economic and social aspects of ‘bad’ involved, and then proposes a new way of organizing that process which reduces or mitigates the ‘bad’. Below are some questions that you may use as a guide while you work on this project:
The current economic and social aspects of “the bad”What is the output being produced?What are the agents involved in producing this output? What is their context? iii) Who wins? Who loses? Who decides? iv) What is the source of conflict?
v) What variables affect positions of various parties?
Your idea for building “the new”
i) Propose a transformative yet achievable idea for transforming the conditions of production. This idea could take the form of public policy, local organizations, nonprofits, entrepreneurial innovations, etc… ii) Who would benefit? Who (if anyone) would lose? iii) What difficulties might this proposal face?
iv) What kinds of new alliances and relationships might be formed.
For now, in this assignment, I will ask that you narrow down the issue to a specific context and community when choosing a topic. For instance, you shouldn’t try to provide solutions for the working class’ conditions under Capitalism. A more achievable question would be: How to improve the working conditions of warehouse workers in Amazon? You can choose whatever topic you’d like, but here are some ideas to look at:
Unpaid care for older people in Canada (or a country/region of your choice)Healthcare access in Mexico (or a country/region of your choice)Mining and access to water for indigenous communities in Ecuador (or a country/region of your choice)Debt and Agriculture: Farmers’ suicides in IndiaImprisoned labor in the United StatesEmigration and exploitation of Filipina domestic workers (or workers from a country/region of your choice)
Finding our ideas for building the new
Someone else has likely thought of good ideas for dealing with the issues you have identified. Look at their ideas! Once you have chosen a topic, I will help you look for resources that may be useful for you.
Grading
Your final grade will depend on:
The correct and appropriate use of terminology and concepts learned in class;Responsible use of appropriate sources, and the correct citation of statistics, ideas, and arguments of others.Clarity and exposition. Don’t be afraid of using diagrams and other forms of visual aid to push your arguments forward. 4. The strength and persuasiveness of your arguments.
A rubric is provided on this, for each section of your project.
